Contagious? New Study Suggests Gender Dysphoria Spreads Among Young Adults

According to a new study by the Williams Institute at UCLA's School of Law, approximately 2.8 million Americans who are 13 or older now identify as "transgender," or about one percent of the population. The Williams Institute has been reporting on America's "transgender" population since 2011.

The new study lends credence to Lisa Littman's findings that gender dysphoria is a social contagion that spreads among peer groups; according to the study, more than 75 percent of those who identify as transgender report being under the age of 35, "compared with 34 percent of the entire U.S. population in the same age group."

Three quarters of those who identify as transgender were born around 1990, the first generation to grow up with the internet and the generation that came of age with the smartphone (the first iPhone was released in 2007). Thousands of parents have since shared their stories of transgender-identifying children who were exposed to gender ideology by the internet.

Predictably, the study's lead author attributed to this jarring disparity to other factors. "Youth and adults are more likely to identify as transgender due to a variety of factors, including a greater willingness among younger individuals to disclose that they identify as transgender on surveys," Jody Herman said. Herman did not mention that, in 1990, "transgender children" were unheard of.

Indeed, one would assume that, if there were many "transgender children" in previous generations who simply did not dare speak out, that the new era of openness that began in 2014 might encourage them to do so. But the new study shows that the rates of transgender-identifying people spike dramatically from age group to age group. "Transgender" people make up 3.3 percent of the age group 13-17, and 2.7 percent of the age group 18 to 24. For the age group 25 to 34, it drops to 1.4 percent.

From there, the rates of those who identify as transgender plummets. Of those aged 35 to 64, transgender-identifying individuals make up only 0.4 percent; for those 65 and older, only 0.3 percent. The actual reasons for this obvious trend are studiously ignored.

The study is being trumpeted as one of the most complete to date. According to NBC News: "Improvements in data collection for youth have helped provide more accurate estimates of youth who identify as transgender, according to study co-author Andrew R. Flores, a distinguished visiting scholar at the Williams Institute and an assistant professor of government at American University ... The number of adults who identify as transgender has remained 'fairly consistent' over time, according to the study."

It is unclear why the dramatic generational disparities are referred to as "consistent," but there are a few other odd tidbits in the data. Minnesota, for example, has the highest reported rate of transgender-identifying individuals at 1.2 percent of the adult population over the age of 18; Hawaii allegedly has the highest rate of transgender-identifying minors, at a whopping 3.6 percent of those aged 13 to 17.

Currently, around a quarter of Gen Z reportedly identify as homosexual, lesbian, bisexual, transgender, or "genderqueer" - while just a few years ago, less than three percent of the population identified as on the LGBT spectrum. Politico reported in 2020 that "a third of Gen Zers say they know someone who uses gender-neutral pronouns to refer to themselves and nearly 6 in 10 say forms or online profiles should allow more options than 'man' or 'woman.'" Identifying as "queer," as I've noted before, has become very popular.

Interestingly, another data set released this month - this one from Gallup -  revealed that Republican support for homosexual "marriage" has plummeted 14 points, from 55 percent in 2022 to 41 percent today.

Originally published at The Bridgehead